The Unlikely Companion
by Vappychan14
Summary: Hesitant to take another companion after Donna, the Doctor continues his adventures alone. A demon from his past soon appears to bring the TimeLord a new challenge, and perhaps an unexpected opportunity...if he can survive that long.


Author's Note: Alright, so I'm a little sporadic in my writing, but I assure you, Megamind 2 has not been abandoned. I have a little bit of craziness going on in my life the past few months and now that it's finally starting to fix itself, the semester is about to begin to fill my time with more work. I'm in graduate school so when I say I can get rather busy, I _mean_ busy. I've had Doctor Who on the brain lately, and this is one of two end results (the other may be written/uploaded in the future but I make no promises).

Anyway, this piece takes place between "Planet of the Dead" and "The Waters of Mars" during Tennant's run as the 10th Doctor. Yes, I'm a Tennant fan—he's what introduced me to the Whoniverse in the first place and dangit, he's my Doctor. That being said, _yes_, I think Matt Smith is a fantastic actor to continue the series and I love Eccelston as well. Moving on.

I hope the prologue isn't as pretentious and "zomg emo!" as it feels to me; this is the first draft so things may change later on. Any and all comments, critiques, and ideas are welcome and, no, "flames" are not critiques. They are whining, ranting _flames_. We nerds can be overly critical and defensive when it comes to our passions, but we should do our best to stay civil as well. :P

**The Unlikely Companion**

_A _Doctor Who_ fan fiction_

Vaprrenon

PROLOUGE

Drifting, always drifting. No, it just looked like drifting to the naked eye. He was running. The Doctor always seemed to be running from _something_. At the moment, he was simply running from his own loneliness.

Life on the TARDIS had become rather empty with Donna gone. With everyone gone. _But,_ he convinced himself, _it's better this way._ His companions always managed to chase the darkness away during their time with him, but it always ended…and someone always ended up hurt. He hadn't wanted to part with Donna, but he had refused to let her sacrifice herself just so that he might have someone to talk to for a little while longer. Adric's death had been enough; he didn't need the ghost of Donna's memory to haunt him as well. _It's better this way._ He couldn't entire agree with himself on that point, even if the premonition Carmen had recited was true. No matter what might be ahead for him now, he would face it alone…where no friend could be caught in the cross-fire.

He had been doing a bit better when it came to coping with the loneliness, but Christina had forced him to confront it face-on and he had backslid since then. The TimeLord had been so tempted to bring her with him, even just turn away for that one second during which she might _just happen_ to sneak aboard before he took off. But right now, after parting with both Donna and Rose for the final time, he couldn't bear the thought that he would have to deal with that kind of separation all over again.

The Doctor had had so many companions over the centuries…he could barely keep them all straight in his mind sometimes. So many lives, so many adventures. So many good-byes. The TARDIS herself was his only constant partner. She had been through it all with him from the very beginning. Sometimes he wondered if she cared as much for him as he did for her. That thought managed to bring a smile to the man's face. They had certainly come a long way together. It almost made him laugh now to think back to a time where he once thought the TARDIS was just a machine. As if she could ever be _just_ a machine….as if she could ever be _just_ anything.

The lonely man pulled ove the video screen, gazing at the vastness of space that surrounded him. He was lost in the brilliance of the stars' flickering light only momentarily. The Doctor blinked. Something was missing from this sky…and he knew exactly what it was as soon as the initial thought registered in his mind. He turned the screen off and pushed it away with more force than the action would usually call for. He knew what was missing from those all too familiar constellations.

The only mystery for him now was why on earth the TARDIS had brought him _here_ and how he had not realized where he was until that moment. He pulled a lever to change the spaceship's direction. He was struggling with the internal torture of loneliness already; he did not need to drag up even more pain. He did not need to be so near to the empty orbital that once held the beautiful Gallifrey.

"Don't think I should let you drive on your own for a while, sweet'eart," he mumbled to the time machine as he worked. He didn't need his mechanical significant other taunting him with memories of more souls lost. Running again. The ship jettisoned away, spinning away from the empty pocket of space once inhabited by the Time Lords.

The Doctor's melancholy panic was interrupted by a jolt. He hit the TARDIS' control panel, giving an '_omph!_' before falling back again. He lay sprawled on the floor for only a second before he attempted to sit up again. No good. There was another awful shudder and the man was knocked over a second time. This time he heard an alarm go off from somewhere as well. That was never a good sign. Another aftershock, sparks from something on the control panel….then nothing.

The man stayed still for a moment. No more rocking, no more nothing. He got to his feet with a cautious mind and brushed himself off as he began to look around the room with curiosity and a pinch of paranoia.

"Well then," he said to himself to fill the silence, "That was a nice trip to the amusement park."

The Doctor looking over the control panel and frowned. "We've stopped," he noted aloud as he turned the little knobs and flipped a switch to get the video screen working again.

He frowned at the result. Nothing. Not even a star. Just…emptiness. He hit the side of the video screen but it was certainly working properly.

"How can there be _nothing_?" he asked loudly, instantly reminded how alone he was with the slight echo his voice caused.

Well, there was nothing for it. This might be just the distraction he was looking for. The Doctor turned a crank on the console to send out a short signal, trying to figure out a direction to head, find a way out of here. Whatever _here_ was, at least.

Success! The Doctor jumped to see the readout when he heard the return ping. Someone, or something, was out there. All he had to do was hone in on the signal… Or, maybe he could just follow the suddenly steady signal he was now picking up. That was rather sudden.

"_Hello?_" a female voice asked cautiously.

That caught the Time Lord's attention. He sprang over to the microphone, pulling it around. "Hello, hello," he replied with a smile. "Who's that, then?"

The response didn't immediately come. "_I am called Su'rai. Our ship is stranded and we are low on supplies. We have been here quite a long time. We cannot escape without aid._" The voice sounded slightly mechanical, although he could not be certain that it was due to the speaker or the electronics involved in the communication system.

That made him frown. "Sorry, but…what is it exactly we're escaping from?"

Again a pause. "_Please help. Our ship has only enough power for the life support system. I cannot maintain this connection much longer. I can explain more when you arrive._"

Well that certainly didn't explain much, now did it? "Right," he said slowly, thinking for a moment. "Well, Su'rai, keep that honing signal coming and put on a kettle of tea."

"…_Does that mean you will help?_"

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. "Of course! Just happen to be thirsty. See you in a minute!"


End file.
